Backing unit for receiving plastic building material



Feliz. ZI, T967 W. D. WHETSTONE BACKING UNIT FOR RECEIVING PLASTIC BUILDING MATERIAL Filed June 29, 1964 ,5 f l@ am i nMNNwn .0 I MZ g NQ D wha w mW Mn D WA United States Patent Office 3,304,685 Patented Feb. Z1, 1967 3,304,685 BACKING UNIT FOR RECEIVING PLASTIC BUILDING MATERIAL William D. Whetstone, City National Bank Bldg., Sylacauga, Ala. 35150 Filed June 29, 1964, Ser. No. 378,609 4 Claims. (Cl. 52-670) This invention relates to a backing unit for receiving a plastic building material and more particularly to such a backing unit which shall be adapted to for-m modular wall and ceiling panels.

An object of my invention is to provide a backing unit for receiving a plastic building material which shall be particularly adapted `for constructing walls, ceilings and the like around structural members, such as beams, columns and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide a backing unit for receiving a plastic material wherein the units may be so arranged as to leave a space inwardly of a wall or ceiling for receiving plumbing and electrical conduits and fittings.

Another object of my invention is to provide a building unit of the character designated in which air spaces may be left inwardly of the wall or ceiling, thereby increasing the insulation effect of the structure.

A further object of my invention is to provide a backing unit for receiving a plastic material which shall have a longitudinally extending, V-shaped projection along one side thereof which terminates inwardly of the ends of the backing unit to thereby provide an outwardly opening recess for receiving structural members, such as beams, channels and the like. y

A further object of my invention is to provide a backing unit for receiving a plastic material of the character designated in which the innermost portions of the outwardly opening recesses slope inwardly to accommodate structural members or the like having downwardly converging lower portions. l

A still further object of my invention is to provide a building unit of the character designated which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and one which may be assembled in various positions relative to each other to provide a versatile, modular structure.

Briefly, my improved backing unit comprises an elongated sheet of perforated material having a base panel formed integrally with end panels. The end panels extend outwardly from one side of the base panel generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the base panel. A central portion of the base panel extends outwardly from the other side of the base panel in spaced relation to the side edges thereto to provide a longitudinally extending V-shaped projection, as viewed in cross section. The ends of the V-shaped projection are cut away to define a centrally disposed, outwardly opening f recess at each end of the base panel for receiving structural members.

A backing unit embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental view showing a section of my improved backing unit;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental, developed view, drawn to a smaller scale, showing the sheet of material from which the backing unit shown in FIG. 1 is formed;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view. parflv broken away, taken generally along the line 5 5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional View showing the backing units secured to each other in a different manner from that shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the backing units secured to each other to provide a single thickness wall construction.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, my improved backing unit comprises an elongated sheet of perforated material 10, such as expanded metal or the like. FIG. 2 shows an end of the elongated sheet of expanded metal prior to the sheet being bent to the shape shown in FIG. 1. The sheet of material is provided with an outwardly opening recess 11 adjacent each end thereof and is cut whereby the lower edges of the recess 11 slope inwardly as at 12.

The sheet of material 10 is bent to the shape shown in FIG. l by suitable means whereby the backing unit comprises a base panel 13 which is formed integrally with end panels 14 that extend outwardly from one side of the base panel 13 generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the base panel. That is, the sheet of material 10 is bent as at 16 whereby the end panels 14 extend at right angles to the base panel 13.

The central portion of the base panel 13 is bent as at 17 and 18 whereby a portion of the base panel 13 extends outwardly from the base panel 13 opposite the end panels 14 to define a longitudinally extending, V-shaped projection 19,v as viewed in transversecross section. As clearly shown in FIGS. l and 2, a rib 21 extends longitudinally of the outer portion of the `V-shaped projection 19 whereby adjacent projections 19 may be secured to each other by suitable means, such as wire clipmembers 22. That is, the backing members 10 may be so positioned that adjacent projections 19 abut each other, as shown in FIG.A3. VThe abutting ribs 21 are then secured to each other by the clip members 22 or other suitable securing means which will readily suggest itself to one skilled in the art. Also, longitudinally extending, spaced apart ribs 23 may be provided in the sheet of material 10, as shown.

The ends of the end panels 14 are preferably turned inwardly as at 24 to restrain separation of the end panels 14 -from the plastic material indicated generally at 26. The plastic .material 26 may be in the form of concrete or other suitable building material. Preferably, the plastic building material 26 is in the form of a concrete mixture which is adapted to be sprayed onto the backing unit 10 in a manner well understood in the art.

Where the backing units 10 are mounted adjacent each other with the V-shaped projections 19 abutting each other, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjacent end panels 14 are also secured to each other by suitable retaining means 27. By securing the backing units 10 to each other by the retaining means 22 and 27, a rigid structure is provided for receiving the plastic building material 26. Also, by mounting the backing units as shown in FIG. 3, a space 28 is provided inwardly of the composite building structure for receiving structural members 29 which may be in the form of Z-bars, beams, channels or the like. The space 28 also aids in increasing the insulation qualities of the composite structure.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ends of the abutting V-shaped members 19 define outwardly opening recesses between adjacent backing units 10 for receiving structural members 31, such as channels. Also, by providing the downwardly sloping edges 12 at each end of the V-shaped projections 19, the recess defined between adjacent backing members 10 is provided with downwardly converging lower edges which are particularly adapted for receiving structural members having downwardly converging lower edges. Also, the downwardly sloping edges 12 provide an air space subjacent the structural Imember 31, as shown in FIG. 5, thereby providing a passageway for plumbing and electrical conduits and fittings where the structural member 31 is in the form of a channel.

In FIG. 6 of the drawing, I show a modified structure which is provided by securing the ribs 21 of one backing unit to an adjacent base member 13 of another back-` ing unit whereby air spaces 32 are provided between adjacent backing units. The longitudinally extending ribs 21 are secured to the adjacent base members 13 by the retaining elements 22 and the end panels 14 of adjacent backing units 10 are secured to each other by the retaining means 27, as described hereinabove.

In FIG. 7 of the drawing, I show the end panels 14 of adjacent backing units 10 as being secured to each other by the retaining elements 27 to define a single thickness wall instead of the double wall construction, as shown in FIGS. 3-6. In all three embodiments shown, the plastic building material 26, such as concrete is applied to the perforated backing member 10 to provide a composite, sturdy structure.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised an improved backing unit for receiving a plastic building material. By providing a longitudinally extending, V- shaped projection at one side of the base panel 13, I not only greatly increase the strength of the overall structure, but provide means for securing adjacent backing members to each other to provide air spaces or spaces therebetween for receiving structural members and improving the insulation qualities of the composite structure. Also, by providing end panels 14 which extend parallel to each other and perpendicular to the base panel 13, together with the inturned ends adjacent the free ends of the end panels, the plastic building 4material 26 is held firmly within the backing unit after application of the building material thereto. Furthermore, by providing a backing unit which may be arranged in a plurality of selected positions to accommodate various structural members and to provide various size air passageways between adjacent units, lmy improved backing member is very versatile and may be installed with a minimum of time and effort around supporting structural members or plumbing and electrical conduits and fittings.

While I have shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a backing unit for receiving a plastic building material:

(a) an elongated sheet of perforated material having a base panel formed integrally with end panels, said end panels extending outwardly from one side of said base panel generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to said base panel,

(b) the central portion of said base panel extending outwardly from the other side of said base panel in spaced relation to said end panels and defining a longitudinally extending V-shaped projection as viewed in transverse cross section, and

(c) the ends of said V-shaped projection being cut away to define a centrally disposed, outwardly opening recess at each end of said base panel.

2. A backing unit for receiving a plastic building material as defined in claim 1 in which longitudinally extending ribs are provided in said sheet of material with one of said ribs extending along the outermost portion of said V-shaped projection to define means for connecting adjacent V-shaped projections.

3. A backing unit for receiving a plastic building material as defined in claim 1 in which the outermost ends of said end panels extend inwardly to restrain separation of said end panels from the plastic building material.

4. A backing unit for receiving a plastic building material as defined in claim 1 in which the ends of said V-shaped projection are cut away diagonally to define inwardly sloped end portions for said V-shaped projection.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 902,357 10/1908 Wohlpart et al 52-676 2,271,929 2/1942 Venzie 52-670 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Examiner.

A. I. BREIER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A BACKING UNIT FOR RECEIVING A PLASTIC BUILDING MATERIAL: (A) AN ELONGATED SHEET OF PERFORATED MATERIAL HAVING A BASE PANELS FORMED INTEGRALLY WITH END PANELS, SAID END PANELS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID BASE PANEL GENERALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID BASE PANEL, (B) THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID BASE PANEL EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID BASE PANEL IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID END PANELS AND DEFINING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING V-SHAPED PROJECTION AS VIEWED IN TRANSVERSE CROSS SECTION, AND (C) THE ENDS OF SAID V-SHAPED PROJECTION BEING CUT AWAY TO DEFINE A CENTRALLY DISPOSED, OUTWARDLY OPENING RECESS AT EACH END OF SAID BASE PANEL. 